Rain, Birthdays and the Philhermonic... in Fear & Loathing in Steel City

I have Ethan this weekend and this should be a very fascinating if not very enjoyable two days with my boy. This morning my brother and his fiance came over for a birthday breakfast. Chris has to work at noon so this was the only time he could come over, so we made eggs, bacon and pancakes and then opened gifts afterwards. Ethan's birthday was last week, but we held off until today to celebrate. Ethan enjoyed this unique celebration... but of course everything is better with bacon, even a birthday party.

We were supposed to go to a small thing that was being held at a park downtown. The group I face paint with was invited to come down and paint faces to raise a few bucks for charity. I was going to take Ethan with me and take him to the cool things there during my breaks. It's not going to happen as its been raining since midnight straight. So the event was cancelled, which is a shame because this park was the same place where I first started face painting with the group I'm with now.

I used to live in the house across the street from this park and I took Ethan and Jon there to check out the party when it was there a few years back. This is when I met Carole, the person in charge of the face painters. There was supposed to be four painters there, but the other three had bailed and Carole was on her own, so since I painted I offered to help out because the line was enormous. Chris watched the boys for me and I joined her and spent the next three hours painting with her and we took care of ever kid that wanted something painted. She was so impressed with my work, she asked if I would be interested in doing more at local football games and other events. I gladly accepted and have been raising money for charity with them since.

But that doesn't mean the day is done. I actually have one more thing planned for Ethan tonight. A friend of mine, someone I've known since I was Ethan's age, invited both Ethan and I to attend the Philharmonic at the amphitheatre later tonight. For the occasion, I got Ethan a new pair of dress pants and a dress shirt so He'll look amazing. I am going to take pictures and the seats are pretty decent so I'm hoping Ethan will enjoy this new experience. Leah is worried that Ethan will not like it and want to leave early. It's possible, but I'm hoping he'll stick it out and enjoy the show. My Dad actually said he thinks it's a good idea to expose Ethan to different things and see how he does.

I've been talking to Ethan all weekend, reminding him of the rules of going to a concert and that he has to remain quiet so that the performers in the orchestra can concentrate on what they're doing and not make an mistakes. He seems to understand what we're saying... let's see how that turns out.

I'll post pictures and update everyone on how tonight's trip to the Philharmonic went. Until then, everyone have a killer Saturday!

Peter